The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has recently released the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). The report shows that in 2002, one quarter of Indigenous people reported that they had been a victim of physical or threatened violence in the previous 12 months, nearly double the rate reported in 1994 (13%). The proportion of Indigenous people who had been a victim of physical or threatened violence was similar for people living in remote and non- remote areas (23% compared with 25%) and for men and women (26% compared with 23%). The levels of reported victimisation were higher among young people, with young men aged 15-24 years having the highest levels of reported victimisation (36%). After adjusting for age differences between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, comparisons from the ABS General Social Survey indicate that Indigenous people aged 18 years or over experienced double the victimisation rate of non-Indigenous people.
Victims of physical or threatened violence in last 12 months, Indigenous people aged 15 years or over [see attached PDF for graph]
Source
- Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social survey 2002, cat. no. 4510.0, ABS, Canberra